Horseheads Teachers' Association

Spring 2016 Newsletter

Horseheads Teachers' Association

Spring 2016 Newsletter

-----Copies of the 2014-2018 Contract----

The current Horseheads Teachers' Association collective bargaining agreement is available on the K: (District) drive in the HTA folder. This document is updated and reformatted to include changes in language that have taken place over the last several settlements. A big THANK YOU to our regional NYSUT office for their assistance in updating the document.

Upcoming Board of Education and Budget Workshop Meetings....it's so important!!

It's budget time! Not only are there specific community budget workshops, but budget information is also going to be presented at BOE meetings (anticipated start in March). It is vital that HTA members know what is happening and establish a presence at these meetings. This is our district and we need to stay engaged!

--------HTA Elections------

HTA Elections will be held in early June for open positions on the Executive Council as well as Building Representatives. Prior to elections, all HTA members will have the opportunity to nominate any member that they would like. Open positions this year are

President

Vice President

Secretary

Treasurer

Representative Assembly Delegates

Retirement Delegates (for the July 2017 - June 2019 term)

The next HTA newsletter will provide candidates the opportunity to introduce themselves!

The National Education Association has established a great website to read short articles on topics of interest in the field of education. There are great stories about educators and parents fighting for public schools. You can sign up for weekly email updates on the issues and people who affect students and public education at the state and federal levels. please consider visiting Education Votes

-------Personal Learing Networks-------

Personal Learning Networks (PLN's) provide opportunities for educators to grow and support each other as professionals by providing advice, instructional tips and classroom materials. Educators can establish their own PLN or they can consider joining an established PLN such as the AFT's Share My Lesson, which provides a space for teachers to share lesson plans, find online professional development and connect with teacher leaders. Blogs and social media are another great way to establish PLN's, using #sharemylesson on Twitter will open up a world of connections to explore.

A letter from NYS Education Commissioner MaryEllen Elia

Dear Teachers,

I am writing to you with an update on our comprehensive review of the New York State P-12 Learning Standards in English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics. Today, I am pleased to announce an exciting opportunity for you, our teachers, to be part of this important process.

As you may remember, our review began in October 2015 with an online, public survey called AIMHighNY. The survey gave anyone with an interest in our schools the opportunity to comment on our current standards.

The majority of survey responses, about 71 percent, were supportive of the standards. However, the survey's findings also indicate that adjustments are necessary.

This data will help to inform the comprehensive review of New York's ELA and Math Learning Standards. Last month, I presented our vision for the next phases of this review to the Board of Regents. You can learn more about that vision on the Board of Regents website.

Throughout this process, feedback from those who know our current learning standards best-our educators-has been especially valuable. I know many of you took the time to provide feedback. Thank you very much for your input.

Your voices are also essential to the success of this next phase of review and must continue to be included in our effort. I invite interested educators from across the State to apply to be a part of our Standards Review Committees. We are putting together a committee for ELA and one for math. These committees will meet virtually this spring and in person this summer in Albany. Committee members will use their experience, knowledge, and expertise to help us make sure New York's learning standards are the right ones for our students.

We encourage all interested educators to apply to be a part of the committees. Please visit www.nysed.gov/AIMHighNY for more information about the review process and for application details and requirements. All applicants must be nominated by a supervisor. And please pass this invitation along to any colleagues who you think would be a good fit for this work.

Thank you for your time. Together, we will continue to AIMHighNY.

Sincerely,

MaryEllen Elia

Commissioner

-Survey Reveals High Stress Among Teachers-

A first, one of a kind survey developed by the AFT and the Badass Teachers Association revealed that job related stress leaves more than three out of four teachers emotionally and physically exhausted at the end of the day! The 80 question survey was completed by more than 34,000 teachers and school staff last spring and fewer than half of those responding stated that they felt that they are treated with respect by public officials, the media and school boards. Preliminary findings can be found here.